From a practical standpoint, if you can get it cheaper than I did (approx $2300) you should be golden. My mistake is that I went through my dealer, so It was a little on the expensive side. I figured that I wanted the paint to match perfectly, so I let them do it. Shop around first.
Yes they took each piece of trim off, sanded, primed and painted. It took them about 2 days to do it. Thats the way to go Im sure someone can do it cheaper if they leave the trim on, but then yo uhave to worry about overspray and what not. I haven't had any problems with paint chips, or pitting or anything of that nature. No graying or dulling either. At the same time, my truck is an '09, so If your paint is dulling or fading or whatever, Im not sure how that is going to look. But if you are just doing the bottom trim, it will look better than what is on there now. That gray plastic was killing me.
Let us know either, and if you paint it post pics. hope this helps.
Nupe